kristaphillips 
I’m VERY VERY excited to announce that Wednesdays during the months of November and December, I’ll be featuring a “gift giving” guide for book lovers!
Each Wednesday until Christmas (minus the week of Thanksgiving and Christmas) will feature an author interview by yours truly, and I’ll have a variety of genres represented to give you PLENTY of gift ideas for your Christmas shopping list! (or ideas to put on your Christmas wish list too!) Also, many of these weeks will have a special book giveaway too for one lucky commenter, so make sure you stay tuned!
All this said….
I AM SO READY FOR CHRISTMAS!
Yes, Yes, I know it isn’t even Halloween yet. But for some reason I’m in the Christmas spirit all ready. Maybe because it’s been colder here than usual for October. I don’t know.
Am I the only one though, that has on and off years? Sometimes I get to December and I’m totally unfilled with Christmas cheer. Other years, I’m singing carols at the top of my lungs mid October.
In honor of my pre-pre-pre Christmas mood: Let’s share our FAVORITE Christmas tradition!
I’ll go first:
Okay, never mind. I can’t think of just one, so… drum roll please…
Krista’s Top Ten Favorite Christmas Traditions
- Decorating the Christmas tree. Especially at the end… turning off all the house lights, and plugging in the tree lights. For some reason the beautiful lights shining out of the darkness just makes me sigh.
- “Dad” reading the Christmas story before opening presents. A great reminder of why we celebrate and a moment basking in the wonder of what God really did for us.
- Opening presents Christmas morning in our PJ’s. It’s a rule. No one’s allowed to get dressed first!
- Day after Thanksgiving Shopping. YES! I’m a 5 am girl. It’s the thrill of the hunt!
- Prime Rib for dinner on Christmas day. My mouth is watering at the thought!
- The Johnson family Christmas carols… we don’t remember half the words and a good many of us sing off key. Fun stuff!
- Stealing kisses from my hubby under the mistletoe:-)
- Hounding my hubby to put up the lights outside until you can see our house from space (slight exaggeration… and I make it up to him with the whole mistletoe thing!)
- Making my ooey gooey chocolate caramel sugar cookies… Um, yeah, might have to make those early.
- Candlelight Christmas Eve service. There’s nothing like singing with a group of believers in Jesus and celebrating His birth together. It’s always a precious moment when we get to do it.
So what is YOUR favorite Christmas tradition?
I'm like you, on again and off again.
I don't know if we have any traditions, per se. I still love Christmas though!
I like the sound of those cookies! My fav? We have an advent day count down and focus on something everyday until finally we get to the end. I've collected advent calendars and now have about 10. So each of my kiddos gets to do two calendars a day! And that's the best part for me, seeing their excitement every morning to do their advent activity.
Krista, I'm in the Christmas spirit all year. Yay!
One of our traditions is to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus before we open any presents. I love seeing the girls screaming birthday wishes up towards Heaven.
Looking forward to the book reviews, what a great idea.
I love the Christmas Eve service at church (my favorite of the whole year!) and the annual Christmas Waffles that we have for breakfast after we open gifts on Christmas morning. 🙂
I'm sorry. I just can't think about Christmas yet. But those cookies sure do sound good!
Jessica… I'd say you need to get you some traditions, girl!
Jody, what a great idea!!!!
Tamika… you've got me beat. all year??? Singing Happy Birthday to jesus is awesome!!!
Erica… CHRISTMAS WAFFLES!!! YUM!! My momma usually makes her homemade caramel rolls.
Susan… Don't get me wrong. I'm not decorating or hanging out the tinsle yet… but I'm excited for Christmas to come this year. I usually wait until the day after Thanksgiving to REALLY start thinking about Christmas!
I have a rule–no Christmas music until November 1. And guess what? That's only a couple days away. Oh yeah!
Love Christmas!!
My favorite tradition is watching my children in their Christmas service. Cry every time. I'm weird like that.
I'm usually listening to Christmas music way before anyone else. lol It is one of my favorite parts of the season. I love finding the perfect gifts for the ones I love, and making them. My husband, kids, & I started a wonderful tradition of travelling to Bronners (Frankenmuth, MI) before Christmas each year to see Santa. We don't leave until it's dark and the entire place is lit up. Our last stop is the Silent Night Chapel, which always fills me with such peace, joy, & wonder.
My side of the family started a tradition years ago of having an hors d'oeuvres party Christmas Eve. These days it often isn't on the 24th but whatever near-Christmas day works for all the families because NO ONE wants to miss it. We put out a TO-DIE-FOR spread!
Another tradition: driving around looking at Christmas lights after the church Sunday School pageant.
A recent tradition that came with having adult married kids (but no grandbabies til next year…) is having everyone buy a few little somethings for everyone else's stockings. Way more fun and less stressful for me than it used to be!
I like your early Christmas cheer, Krista! Spending the season with family is one of my favorite things. Most of our family is up in the frigid North, so whether we travel up there, or they migrate down here, Christmases spent together are always the best!!I can definitely agree with your comment about celebrating Jesus, the real 'reason for the season.' Any chance you'd share your cookie recipe? They sound amazing!! 🙂
Some years are better than others. For me, it has a lot to do with what's going on in my life.
I love the family gatherings, the excitement of children, and the joyful remembrance of God's gift, Jesus.
Blessings,
Susan 🙂
I'm totally with you on #s 3, 8, & 10– those are some of my favorite too!
My absolute favorite tradition, though, is one my mom started when I was a very young girl. She'd buy me a special "Christmas" book every year, and would wake me up before my dad (or the sun) on Christmas morning to read it to me by the light of the Christmas tree, while drinking hot chocolate and listening to carols by the fire. It gives me warm fuzzies all over! It's a tradition I started with my own daughter last year, when she was just 3 months old!
BTW, what's the receipt for those cookies??
*grin* I'm going to be mean and withhold the recipe until closer to Christmas.
But let me tell you.
They are AMAZING. It'll be worth the wait:-)
Thanks for visiting!!! From one working mom to another… 🙂
Jill, LOVE Christmas music. Confession: I popped in a MWS Christmas CD on my way home from work the other day. Horrible.. I know!
CMOM… SO glad I'm not the only one:-) "Have yourself… a merry little Christmas…." Sorry:-)
Valerie! Driving around looking at Christmas lights, I can't BELIEVE I forgot to list that tradition! One of my fav's!
Maria, ditto on my comment to COAWM. I'll share in December… *evil grin* Method to my maddness is that I want to include a picture of them, which means i have to make them. And when I make them I eat a LOT. *sigh* Must… wait… for… December…
Susan… I totally get that! I think it's the same for me… extra stressful years, it's harder to get into the Christmas spirit. A lot of it is my "mood" before CHristmas starts…
Those are awesome traditions, Krista. You've got me excited for Christmas now, too!!
Will you share your ooey gooey chocolate caramel sugar cookies recipe. I'd love to add it to my festive baking.
For my family, we do an annual photo shoot of all five of us each year, and add it to the hall of growing (our bedroom hallway is lined with each years photo to show the girls growth). Wallets go in each of the Christmas cards.
We bake, put one real tree up each year, and at least one artificial tree up in the house too. I love the twinkle lights on Christmas trees. We help Phil string lights outside, though this year, half the job is already done, some never came down. Just need to plug them in. There are lots more, like Turkey feast, Christmas Eve service, etc. Lots to look forward to.
oooh, I love it that you have prime rib for Christmas dinner, and will you give away some of your ooey gooey chocolate yummies for a prize?
My fav. Christmas tradition is giving a present to Jesus. We picked up this idea from some friends of ours, and I like it. It can be an offering in church, help to an unfortunate family, anything you like that honors the Savior.